Tony Romo favoring back at golf tournament is painful reminder for Cowboys fans

It's not quite Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers, but the Dallas Cowboys have been blessed to transition from one franchise quarterback to another. Most teams have to suffer through a few-year run of stopgaps, but the Cowboys didn't skip a beat in passing the baton from Tony Romo to Dak Prescott.

While neither Romo nor Prescott have enjoyed much playoff success, both quarterbacks will go down as two of the best in Cowboys history. You can argue where they currently rank, but both should be somewhere in the top five.

Some folks believe Romo would've accomplished more in the postseason if he had a better defense and overall supporting cast on offense.

And who could forget the injuries? Cowboys fans will never forget the fractured vetebrae Romo suffered during the 2016 preseason. It ended his career and paved the way for Prescott to take the keys of the offense on a permanent basis.

Romo is clearly still feeling the effects of the injury -- and all of the back injuries he sustained in his career. This photo of Romo favoring his back at the Metamora pro-am golf event tells its own story.

Former Cowboys QB Tony Romo still feeling effects from 2016 back injury

It sure looks like Romo struggled to bend over and place the ball on his tee. That's a saddening thought for Cowboys fans and serves as a painful reminder of how many obstacles Romo endured during his career in terms of back injuries.

In 2013, Romo suffered a fractured disk. He underwent a discectomy two days before a winner-take-all game in Week 17 against the Eagles. He was sidelined for the game and the Kyle Orton-led Cowboys lost 24-22.

The following year, Romo suffered two transverse process fractures after he was kneed in the back by Washington defender Keenan Robinson. He only missed one game, which brings us to the 2016 when he was diagnosed with a L1 vertebra fracture.

Though injury prone towards the end of his career, Romo's toughness was never a question. Playing through broken ribs and a punctured lung are some of Cowboys fans' fondest memories of No. 9 under center for America's Team.

That doesn't even count the three separate fractured collarbones Romo suffered in his career, including two in the same season. The Cowboys famously lost seven straight games in 2015 with Brandon Weeden and Matt Cassell starting in place of Romo.

Later in the season, Romo suffered a re-break of the left collarbone in the healed portion against the Panthers, forcing him to miss the final five games.

While Romo's drive, chipping game and putting aren't impacted by his unfortunate run of luck with back injuries, it says a lot about what his body went through that he still has to favor his back so blatantly when bending over.

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